Re-Tales #31: Tektonics Design Group, a Continuing Education

Probably the biggest group of audiophiles right now are still “Boomers”: members of the “Baby Boom” generation, which by most definitions puts their minimum age at close to 60. Boomers are aging and won’t be around forever. So bringing new blood into the hobby is more important than ever.

Younger people (post-Boomer generations) listen to a ton of music—but are they really listening? Are they paying close attention, or, as the cliché goes, is it, for them, all background music? Generational clichés are rarely accurate. Of course they actually listen. Enough of them are, anyway. And they hear more; their hearing is better.

There are differences, though, for sure. Many of them listen to headphones, often very good ones. When not listening on headphones, they’re likely to be listening in their main living area, not in a dedicated listening room. I’m generalizing, but many seek hi-fi that’s pleasant to live with, that fits their aesthetic sensibility. They choose artisan products made from natural materials, like wood, with warmth and nice textures. It’s a better fit for their spaces and lifestyles than utilitarian, pro-inspired gear.

It is, again, a generalization: Every generation has diverse tastes. That artisan sensibility, though, is Christopher Hildebrand’s sweet spot. Hildebrand—whose age, 48, puts him solidly in Generation X—has for 20 years owned Tektonics Design Group. Its main facility is a 20,000ft² machine shop in the Manchester area of Richmond, Virginia. Tektonics does OEM work and manufactures equipment branded Fern & Roby, which Hildebrand launched nine years ago. (The Fern & Roby Montrose turntable, pictured above, costs $8500 including tonearm.) Fern & Roby is also the name of his dealership, with an e-commerce site, a listening room, and soon a dedicated retail space in the factory.

Few of Hildebrand’s customers think of themselves as audiophiles. “They’re people who love music and design, and they want a great system,” he told me in a recent interview: About 90% of Fern & Roby’s inquiries, he estimates, come from people without much hi-fi experience. Hildebrand’s own early hi-fi experiences have helped inform his approach to sales, selecting the equipment he sells, and educating customers. He calls his approach “high-touch.”

Hildebrand recalled how opaque audiophilia and its technology seemed when he was new to the hobby. “I was seeing a lot of contradictory information out there.

I wasn’t going to go dive into forums. I wanted to connect with one or two people directly to learn about what works well with what. You can waste a lot of time and money getting it wrong while you’re on your own.”

Too many dealers—and manufacturers—take it for granted that prospective customers are well-informed. Sometimes they are. But dealers should avoid making new customers feel foolish or awkward for not being among the cognoscenti. Customer education is important. So is dealer education: asking the right questions about the customer’s wants and needs and listening to the answers. Hildebrand wants to meet customers “where they are” in their hi-fi journey.

Fern & Roby has always had an analog focus, so Hildebrand searched out other brands to fill out his retail offerings; he wanted to be able to offer complete systems. At first he felt unsure about selling products he didn’t make, but he quickly realized it made sense: “When we said ‘we’re a dealer,’ it was empowering. If I was stuck on making everything, I think it would limit what we could provide our clientele.”

In deciding which digital sources to sell, he again looked to his own hi-fi experiences. He’d built his own NUC from a kit; it wasn’t a good experience. “It was really hard—not mechanically but from an IT standpoint. It was always crashing. It was frustrating. I didn’t want to become a client’s IT person.” He considered not just sonics but also user-friendliness: “With digital, it’s a hidden gap people don’t talk a lot about when you’re selling to people who want to enjoy their music and not necessarily become IT people.” He ended up selling the Weiss Engineering DAC501 DAC/streamer (footnote 1) and the Roon Nucleus.

The other products Fern & Roby sells fit within their analog-focused ecosystem. He’s been selling Schröder tonearms as upgrades for his Fern & Roby ‘tables from the very beginning. He carries equipment by ModWright Instruments, AudioQuest, Black Cat Cable, and Soundsmith. Sometimes he collaborates with the companies whose products he sells: He designed a chassis for Linear Tube Audio, for example.

The website sells equipment, but mainly it’s where customers can research his products before they make contact. Most call before buying. Hours at the factory dealership are by appointment, for now anyway. That’s partly because Fern & Roby exists within the factory space he operates, and he wants to be able to give customers proper attention. Also, many of his customers are out of state, some international. If people drop by, he can make time for them. While most of his customers never visit the Fern & Roby dealership, most do talk to him on the phone first.

Hildebrand is in the process of building out a new retail showroom so that he can display more systems and accessories. He plans to sell records, too. He hopes the new showroom will be finished by the summer. Once it opens, he’s hoping to host events, maybe with musicians: “We’re trying to educate the public about music and manufacturing.” Customers within visiting distance can schedule tours of the shop, to see how their products are made.

“We’re selling an experience. We’re helping [customers] craft a system. You have more control over that—and it’s a lot of fun.

Footnote 1: Stereophile‘s review of the similar but more-fully-featured Weiss DAC502 can be found here.—Ed.

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